REPORT OF MR. S. A. BEDFORD. 909 



The land on the Experimental Farm being in a good state of cultivation did not 

 suffer as badly as the average farms in this section, still the berry of the earlier 

 varieties of wheat grown on the farm, was greatly shrunken, and the returns 

 especially of hay, roots and fodder plants would have been much larger, but for the 

 drought and hot winds of July and August followed by a dry autumn. 



The past season has emphasized the necessity in this portion of the province 

 of a shorter course of rotation than is generally adopted, it is questionable whether 

 more than two, or at the most three crops should be grown on the same land without 

 summer fallow ; properly summer-fallowed land is not only freer of weeds, but 

 retains moisture to a much greater extent than loose land filled with unrotted 

 stubble, a condition that obtains in most of the land here when cropped for several 

 years in succession. 



This fall in digging drains through stubble land the soil was found almost per- 

 fectly dry for 5 and 6 feet deep, while in summer fallow the soil was found quite 

 moist for the same depth. 



As a result of the high temperature and bright weather, there has been an 

 almost total absence of injury from rust or fall frost, the first severe frost was 

 experienced on the 16th September when the thermometer showed 8 degrees of 

 frost, at that date even the latest sown wheat was cut and out of danger. 



In addition to the repetition of some former experiments so necessary to the 

 reaching of accurate conclusions, a quantity of entirely new work, much of it arranged 

 80 as to meet suggestions made by farmers of the province, has been undertaken 

 this year. 



RESULTS OF TESTS WITH VARIETIES OF WHEAT. 



In addition to the varieties tested on this farm for the past four years a number 

 of new varieties, principally cross-bred wheats, have been tried here this year for the 

 first time. These wheats were originated at the Central Experimental Farm, are nearly 

 all early maturing varieties and were in the milk stage when the hot winds of the 

 7th August prevailed, and for that reason the kernel was greatly shrunken and the 

 yield reduced ; and being nearly ripe at the time of a severe wind storm which 

 occurred on 14th August, when much of the grain was beaten out, the yield was 

 reduced from this cause also. 



It will be noticed that nearly all these varieties are early and many of them have 

 short bearded heads. 



The Stanley and Alpha are exceptions, having fair sized bald heads and are thus 

 far the most promising of the series. 



The accompanying table gives full particulars regarding the test of varieties of 

 wheats for this year. 



As all the varieties stood up equally well, the column giving the character of 

 straw is omitted this year. 



